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Gender hierarchy and inequality are attributes of Western colonialism enforced in several colonised societies. Similarly, feminism (Western), as the antithesis of European sexism, has permeated colonised societies and has been assimilated without proper reflection. This is concretely evident among the Yorùbá people of south-western Nigeria. Before European colonisation, Yorùbá culture was gender-neutral and gender-silent; women were seen as complementary and not subordinate to men. Hence, according to Oyěwùmí's work on The Invention of Women, caution and reflections must be raised on the continual adoption of mainstream Western feminist philosophy in Yorùbá culture. In essence, the colonial imposition of the Western gender binary in Yorùbá society and women's anti-colonial and feminist activities are discussed. Furthermore, the paper challenges some feminist approaches and ideologies in Nigeria, while advocating for a communal, transformative, and Pan-African feminism in Yorùbá and African societies. The decolonisation of Africa and the Yorùbá education system are recommended, alongside a proper history of Indigenous Yoruba people and knowledges. Contemporary feminist campaigns (including digital feminisms) and movements must also develop a 'shared text of blackness'. The duo should align and improve the worth of women based on the indispensability and esteemed status offered to women in 'pre-colonial' Yorùbá society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Akoko is a Yoruba subgroup in south-western Nigeria, where people from different origins are found in clusters of autonomous communities. A common identity of Akoko is heterogeneity of its cultures. This heterogeneity is more profound in its social practices, such that there is fundamental departure from general Yoruba tradition. Drawing evidence from Akoko's social relations, this paper discusses peculiarity of social grading system in pre-colonial Isua Akoko (an Akoko community). Like many communities in this sub-group, the history of origin of Isua is shrouded in migrations and connections from different directions such as Edo and Yoruba. This diversity makes the history interesting to gender, particularly the cultural fluidity in its social grading system. The grading was crucial to Isua's identity. This paper argues that social grouping cannot be homogenised between the two sexes: while males were grouped through age, females were categorised with the parameters of marriage and procreation. However, these trajectories of female grouping created a vacuum of uncelebrated women: the infertile and childless that did not have progeny. Inculcating these women in social grouping makes this research germane. With focus on Isua, the paper advances existing scholarship by discussing intersections that knit gender and micro history. The paper is approached from historical perspective with the methodology of narration and critical analysis of data. Theory of African womanism is used to interpret gender narratives in the sources and analyse data. This study concludes that social grading in Isua reflects gendering unique to its history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of women in the knowledge-based enterprise of traditional healing underscores the role of women in sustainable development. The World Health Organization (WHO) finds that about three quarters of the world's population depend upon traditional remedies for their health. However, ecosystems suffer and environmentally important animals become extinct due to the wide use of traditional medicine. This paper investigates the linkages between intellectual property rights (IPRs), gender inclusiveness and environmental sustainability. Adopting a feminist legal methodology, the paper analyzes the challenges of securing IPRs for female traditional healers and how these impact on environmental sustainability. The paper finds that ownership of property rights (including IPRs) is central to exercising judgment over the sustainable use of the environment and that such ownership is lacking among female traditional healers. The paper proposes the active synergy of patent offices and traditional healers, following an example from China, as one of the remedies to devise new forms of IPRs that may better suit the needs of women who seek to protect their innovations in the field of traditional medicine. This paper links the ownership of IPRs to environmental sustainability and gender inclusiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The health burden due to mental health has historically been underestimated with focus on communicable diseases and deaths and little consideration of disability and comorbidity effects of poor mental health. Recent data show increasing trends of mental health disorders as a share of global health burdens and vulnerability of adolescents. This paper aims to explore social determinants of mental health as experienced by adolescent girls, drawing attention to gendered risks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Semi-structured interviews with twenty-two adolescent girls in urban informal settlements in Kenya and Nigeria reveal unique environmental, socio-cultural, economic and educational factors that threatened their mental wellbeing. The pandemic exacerbated these determinants. An equitable recovery will require a consideration of not only disproportional mental health outcomes, but also social determinants that contribute to these outcomes. As more than half of the urban population in sub-Saharan Africa reside in informal settlements, this study has implications for youth-focused mental health interventions in these and similar settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In her groundbreaking text, Male Daughters, Female Husbands, Ifi Amadiume offers an ethnographic account which depicts, among others, gender in the making in Nnobi society in Nigeria. This paper, drawing from Amadiume's work, looks at three related specific moments of understanding gender and sex categories in a South African context. Through empirical research based on a qualitative study; a literary text; as well as visual arts, the paper tracks the notion of nongayindoda, a Nguni term for (gender) fluidity to offer new insights that go beyond Western gender binaries. Nongayindoda has been used to refer to masculine women or men-like women. In some contexts, it has been assumed to relate only to women who have chosen not to have relations with men. Some have considered the term derogatory and thus shied away from using it. In this paper, the term is turned upside and interrogated to reveal broader meanings. In the end, I argue that nongayindoda offers an opportunity to move beyond gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerted efforts to transform gender cultures within Nigerian universities have introduced formal strategies aimed at reinforcing gender equity principles and practice. This is evidenced through the creation of gender centres and the adoption of gender equity policies in some Nigerian universities. However, existing literature reveals that despite these formal measures, gender imbalance in academic leadership is still prevalent. This paper seeks to investigate why gender equity policies in Nigerian universities have failed to gain traction, especially for advancing women to academic leadership positions. Using documentary data gathered from purposively selected universities in Nigeria, this paper unveils the various ways in which the content and enactment of institutional gender policies are gendered and potentially reinforce systems of inequality. Informed by a Feminist Institutionalism and Feminist Policy Analysis framework, I analyse gender policy documents and identify areas of silence, women's exclusion, and how male dominance is perpetuated in the policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child marriage is a problem that has continued to attract global attention. The media have been identified as critical to the fight against the scourge as it discusses the capacity to raise awareness of the issue as well as trigger action in solving the problem. The report of the alleged abduction of a minor, Ese Oruru by one Yunusa Dahiru for marriage jolted the nation and sparked public outcry for her release. This study explored newspaper framing of the incident. Drawing from qualitative frame analysis, it examined how Punch and Daily Trust newspapers framed the alleged abduction saga. The study found that there was contrastive framing of the incident with Punch newspaper portraying the issue as abduction while Daily Trust newspaper depicted it as elopement. The influence of socio-cultural leanings of these papers on the contrastive framing is discussed. The implication of the divergent framing of the saga on the fight against child marriage is highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigated the determinant of youth participation in agricultural training programs using the case of Fadama program. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select a total of 977 respondents comprising of 455 participants and 522 non-participants. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study showed that high asset index reduces youths' likelihood of participation. Also, participation in the program was negatively but significantly influenced by gender and household size but positively by age, years of education, perception of agribusiness, agribusiness ownership and youth's intentions to start farming. The result of the descriptive showed that majority of the respondents (56%) indicated lack of access to finance as their major barrier to participating in agribusiness and in agribusiness training. Other barriers include lack of mentorship and information. The study therefore recommends the need for strategies to facilitate youth access to credit, mentorship and timely information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]